Black Panther star died without leaving a will

The late Chadwick Boseman, star of the hit film Black Panther, died without leaving a Will it has been revealed.

An article in the Belfast Telegraph reported that Boseman’s wife, Taylor-Simone Ledward, had filed a probate case in Los Angeles asking the judge to name her as an administrator to the estate with limited authority.

Boseman, 43, died in August this year. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer some four years earlier. He and Ledward are reported to have married just before he died. His wife listed the estimated value of his estate at $938,000 (about £726,000) in the paper she filed. Shown by the court records obtained by the PA news agency.

$900k worth

She listed the estimated value of Boseman’s estate at 938,500 dollars (about £726,000), court records obtained by the PA news agency show.

Boseman’s final film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is scheduled for release on Netflix on 18 December. He played the character T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther film. A sequel is in development, but it is not known how the studio will handle Boseman’s death.

Celebrities who died without leaving a Will in the past few years include Rik Mayall, Prince and Amy Winehouse.

Tax bill on estate

The comedian and actor Rik Mayall died at the age of 56. Thanks to not having a Will in place, his wife and three children faced a massive tax bill on his £1.2 million estate.

When the singer Prince died at 57, he did not have a partner, children or parents still alive. His full sister, Tyka Nelson, filed the document to begin probate proceedings not long after his death. Some 700 people have claimed they are Prince’s half-sibling, which would mean they had a claim to his estate if that is true. Prince’s estate is thought to be worth about $300 million, which will increase in value as the royalty income from his music continues.

Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27. Her net estate of roughly £3 million was passed to her parents, Janis and Mitch, under the rules of intestacy. Her ex-husband made a £1.4 million legal claim on her estate in 2019, eight years after she died, despite having received a pay-out from Winehouse when they split.

Finders International offers an asset reunification service for those who hold unclaimed assets, such as pensions, savings plans and shareholdings, and cannot trace the owners. Please contact us to find out more.